Table Hopping column: Horn’s Tavern owners reflect on closing

Brendan Horn holds his 4-month-old daughter, Makenna, during a break from cleaning out the closed restaurant last week.

For Sunday’s Table Hopping column, I chatted with Brendan and Glenda Horn, who, for financial reasons, last weekend closed their Brunswick restaurant, Horn’s Tavern, after less than 15 months in business. Short version:

Although the scenario fits the definition of a failure, the Horns remain upbeat.

“We built a reputation we could be proud of,” says Glenda. “There wasn’t a problem with the food. There wasn’t a problem with the service. People loved it. The mistake was the location.”

Brendan, who turned out tasty pasta, risotto and burgers while Glenda provided a winning front-of-house presence, says, “I learned a lot. We can say we opened our own restaurant.” And he did it when he was 25 years old. (He turns 27 in September.)

Stopped in by accident in late May and was impressed by the staff (owners?) and food was decent and well prepared. We tried to go back on Father’s Day, but the place was closed. Puzzled by that, but now I see the problem. Good luck with future plans.

As residents of Pittstown, we ate @ Horn’s Tavern too many times to count. We were so excited that a quality restaurant had opened just a short drive from our house. Chef Horn’s cream sauces were perfection — not too rich & applied w/a deft hand. My favorite dish was the scallops w/risotto; Bruce’s was the pecan-encrusted pork. Both dishes were always perfectly prepared & beautifully presented. Chef Horn also roasted a mean chicken — so moist & flavorful. His bruschetta was spectacular, not to mention the creme brulee bread pudding. And Glenda was always a superb hostess/waitress. We miss you already Brendan & Glenda! We’ll keep our ears out re your new location — hurry, we can hardly wait!

Best of luck to the Horn’s on their future endeavors. I live in the Brunswick area and while it is remote (thankfully), it seems to be a fine location for the Brunswick Barbeque & Brew up the street. Maybe the limiting factor at Horn’s Tavern is the building, it’s layout and the fine dining approach. It sure would be nice to see a feature article on a local restaurant when it opens instead of when it closes. I don’t recall any such article when Brunswick BBQ opened it’s doors. Luckily there hasn’t been a need for an article on it’s demise.

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